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Syria Talks

"We see only one option, negotiating a transition government born by mutual consent," Kerry said, according to Reuters. "That means that Bashar Assad will not be part of that transition government. There is no way, no way possible, that a man who has led a brutal response to his own people can regain legitimacy to govern."

If Kerry believes that Assad will accept that, he might as well come home now.

Wonder if all the chemical weapons have been removed from Assad's possession. If not, is there much chance of that happening after this statement by Kerry?

And if he backs down on this, just another red line statement, what good will that do?

The State Department said Wednesday that remarks from Syria's foreign minister were not in keeping with the spirit or aims of the gathering, which is intended to begin the process of forming a transitional government. Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that instead of laying out a "positive vision" for Syria's future, al-Moallem chose "inflammatory rhetoric."

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who the is leading the Damascus delegation, rejected Kerry's assertion that Assad has lost legitimacy and said no one has the right to remove him except Syrians.

"We came here as representatives of the Syrian people and state and everybody should know that nobody in this world has the right to withdraw the legitimacy of a president or government ... other than the Syrians themselves,'' al-Moallem said, according to Reuters.

Al-Moallem also refused to give up the podium to Ban Ki-moon, telling the U.N. chief: "You live in New York, I live in Syria."

The Guardian, which obtained access to the report, says that the source of the report's claims is a military police photographer who secretly worked with a Syrian rebel group before defecting and fleeing the country. The report could not be independently confirmed.

G.Clinchy@gmail.com"Know in your heart that all things are possible. We couldn't conceive of a miracle if none ever happened." -Libby Fudim

​I don't use the PM feature, so just email me direct at the address shown above.

They figure they have us entangled in the political process and that our hands are tied so that we can not fight. Even Iran is saying that they did not agree to dismantle anything, testing the resolve. I would like to see some strikes launched on Syria if for no other reason to make them second guess what they think they know about us.

Ole and Sven are quietly sitting in a boat fishing, chewing and drinking beer when suddenly Sven says, 'I think I'm gonna divorce my wife - she ain't spoke to me in over 2 months.' Ole sips his beer and says, 'Better think it over...women like that are hard to find.'